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Topic: Cheese, Glorious Cheese (Read 10942 times)

I was just sitting here reading ehell and browsing, whilst feasting on a gouda, when I realized that there is no cheese thread in the food area. And that seems like a crime!

Soooo...cheese! Do you live in a region that has a famous cheese? Do you have feelings on the best cheeses out there?

I am a huge lover of cheese, and love getting my hands on some local, delightful cheese. My currant favorites are Constant Bliss and Bayley Hazen Blue both made by Jasper Hill Farm in VT. Constant Bliss is an amazing creamy delicious wonder & Bayley Hazen Blue is a really different thick, spicy Blue that makes my nose pucker up in that weird "aaah, so strong, so delicious!" way.

I really want to get back to Europe sometime to have a crack at all the wonderful unpasteurized cheeses, since all soft cheese here in the US are supposed to be pasteurized for safety. I hear that kills so much wonderful flavor.

What about you? Does your area have a cheese that's awesome? Do you think it's worth the hype? Do you ever covet other cheeses?

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I am fairly lactose intolerant (and the pills don't work for me, waaah!) but the aged gouda and aged swiss they make is so low in lactose I can actually eat it! This makes me very happy, as the swiss in particular is sharp deliciousness!

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My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world. ~ Jack Layton.

I love cheese and trying new cheese. A friend of mine snuck some back from France earlier this year in her suitcase and it was yummy! Unfortunately where I live now the cheese selection leaves something to be desired (NC). Thankfully I'll be back in CA for a few months at the end of Sept so I'll be around more cheese and friends who appreciate good cheese. I miss my wine and cheese get-togethers.

All that being said, a good smoked gouda is delicious. And I haven't had it in a while, but buffalo mozzarella is delicious! Mmmmm....

Fresh mozzarella - either on its own, or as part of a caprese salad. Mmmmmmm.

Nope, I don't like cheese at all.

Apricot Stilton. I love the sweet white stiltons. I also adore the blue cheeses - like Butternut squash with gorgonzola.

And feta.

And Tillamook extra sharp cheddar. (I grew up on the Willamette Valley area of Oregon, so Tillamook is my preferred yellow cheddar. Loleta, California has a cheese factory; they're another local producer I favor.)

The selection at Trader Joe's, for the prices they offer, generally keeps me content, but I may have to explore the artisan shops on the area. Maybe even do a tasting of three or four chevres, or Bries, or . . . to see where the price break and value best intersect.

I am not necessarily enough of an epicure to demand only the best (or even really appreciate it) if the cost-advantage product is of only slightly lesser quality.

I must introduce you to Digby's Savoury Cheese. Brie, cream cheese and butter, all melted together. Phenomenal.

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I was just sitting here reading ehell and browsing, whilst feasting on a gouda, when I realized that there is no cheese thread in the food area. And that seems like a crime!

I lived in Gouda until just afew months ago.

Gouda in the Netherlands is just the daily regular cheese though, there is nothing special about it, it is the cheap regular supermarket stuff. If you say talk about cheese for basic things like a cheese sandwich, cheeseburger etc., I think Gouda.

Another well known Dutch cheese is the Edammer, which I never eat much myself.

My personal favorite of the standard cheeses around here is the Stolwijker,(a village just south of Gouda, it is very similar to Gouda, but has a bit more flavour.) Though I mostly prefer to get farmers cheese right of the farm. The advantage here is that there are enough cheese farms all over the country, to always be able to find one close enough to where you live

I am never sure what kind of Gouda is sold in other countries, but, like most Dutch cheeses Gouda is normally sold in different levels of aging. I wonder what age Gouda is sold in other countries. These levels are:jong (young): 4 weeksjong belegen (young aged): 8-10 weeksbelegen (aged) 16 - 18 weeks extra belegen (extra aged) 7-8 months oud (old) 10-12 months overjarig (overaged) more then 18 months The older the cheese, the harder and the more flavour it has.

I agree with a previous poster - Dubliner is *amazing*. So is Trader Joe's Honey Chevre - especially with gewürztraminer. Amazing!

And Tillamook extra sharp cheddar. (I grew up on the Willamette Valley area of Oregon, so Tillamook is my preferred yellow cheddar. Loleta, California has a cheese factory; they're another local producer I favor.)

The selection at Trader Joe's, for the prices they offer, generally keeps me content, but I may have to explore the artisan shops on the area. Maybe even do a tasting of three or four chevres, or Bries, or . . . to see where the price break and value best intersect.

Now you've made me want to try that cheese w/the gewurztraminer, and I don't normally like that wine!

OH!! How could I forget Tillamook??? That was one of my saddest moments when moving out here and realizing no one sells Tillamook. Last year for DH's birthday I actually ordered some online from them. Needless to say we enjoyed the heck out of the 3 blocks while they lasted. Again, another reason I'm excited for CA. Tillamook sharp cheddar at any grocery store!! And one place I want to visit is the Tillamook factory. One day we will go and gorge ourselves.

Fresh mozzarella - either on its own, or as part of a caprese salad. Mmmmmmm.

Nope, I don't like cheese at all.

Apricot Stilton. I love the sweet white stiltons. I also adore the blue cheeses - like Butternut squash with gorgonzola.

And feta.

And Tillamook extra sharp cheddar. (I grew up on the Willamette Valley area of Oregon, so Tillamook is my preferred yellow cheddar. Loleta, California has a cheese factory; they're another local producer I favor.)

The selection at Trader Joe's, for the prices they offer, generally keeps me content, but I may have to explore the artisan shops on the area. Maybe even do a tasting of three or four chevres, or Bries, or . . . to see where the price break and value best intersect.

I am not necessarily enough of an epicure to demand only the best (or even really appreciate it) if the cost-advantage product is of only slightly lesser quality.

I must introduce you to Digby's Savoury Cheese. Brie, cream cheese and butter, all melted together. Phenomenal.

I think I <3 you from the way you write about cheese. I am sitting here drooling now.

And I agree, Trader Joes is a great place to get good cheese at a reasonable price. That's where I got my gouda. Sometimes I will do Whole Foods (which has some reasonably priced ones, most often cheddars) or Murray's (which is pricey but soooo good for a cheese splurge), but TJs (and Fairway) seem to be my mainstays for getting my cheese fix.

There is a place on the lower east side, in NYC, called The East Village Cheese Shop. Cash only, they get day-old Balthazar breads and they buy cheese off the really expensive cheese places when it's *just* over peak (so not good anymore for paying top dollar), but is still plenty tasty. You can get giant $2 brie wedges. Soooooo good. I like getting a nice bleu there and stuffing it into apricots.

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I have studied many philosophers and many cats. The wisdom of cats is infinitely superior. ~ Hippolyte Taine

There is a place on the lower east side, in NYC, called The East Village Cheese Shop. Cash only, they get day-old Balthazar breads and they buy cheese off the really expensive cheese places when it's *just* over peak (so not good anymore for paying top dollar), but is still plenty tasty. You can get giant $2 brie wedges. Soooooo good. I like getting a nice bleu there and stuffing it into apricots.

Ooh, I just looked this place up. I think I have one more place to add to our (not yet planned) girls' day out in New York.

As long as cheese hasn't got fruit in it I'll eat it. I have no idea when I turned into a cheese fiend because we only ever had cheddar or red leicester at home. I don't like biscuits though so I have to eat it with bread or just on its own (which got me into trouble when my mum found out I'd only eaten cheese for lunch for three days over Christmas).